Lead, Legal and IP Business Operations

Astellas Canada –

At Astellas, we strive to become a cutting-edge, value-driven life science innovator. This means working at the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients.

What sets us apart is our focus on patients, our pioneering innovation, our collaborative culture, and the passion of our talented people.

Making a positive impact on patients’ lives is the purpose behind everything we do. At Astellas, we are relentless in our pursuit of scientific progress and in tackling unmet medical needs, demonstrated by our legacy in oncology, overactive bladder and transplant and our impressive pipeline in women's health, blindness and regeneration, genetic regulation, immuno-oncology, mitochondria and targeted protein degradation.

About Us:

We are a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, with a team of more than 14,000 managing operations in approximately 70 countries around the world. We are in the Top 30 global biopharma company based on global revenues and are predicted to be one of the Top 10 Cancer Drug Makers of 2024 by Fierce Pharma.

In Canada, we are growing to meet the exciting opportunities realized by our legacy brands and rich pipeline of innovative treatments.

We are looking for candidates who will thrive in our entrepreneurial and empowering environment where talent and leadership flourish. Do your values align with our Astellas Way - patient focus, ownership, results, openness and integrity? Then we would love to hear from you.

From the first day in role, everyone at Astellas has a responsibility for creating a brighter future for patients around the world. We nurture exceptional relationships with our employees to allow them to thrive, foster innovation, and deliver exceptional business results. We work to create a culture where our people feel empowered to pursue brave ideas and ambitious outcomes, to have the confidence to be accountable for a higher standard of performance and embody a competitive and solutions-oriented mindset.

Our expertise, science and technology make us a pharma company. Our open and diverse culture is what makes us uniquely Astellas.

Astellas Pharma Canada (APCA) is currently searching for a Lead, Legal and IP Business Operations.

Purpose and Scope:

The Lead, Legal & IP Business Operations position is a senior leadership role within the GC&CECO Chief of Staff (CoS) Office. This position serves as the senior operational lead for the Legal and IP functions, with primary accountability for strategic execution, operational planning, cross-functional coordination, and vendor and financial oversight.

As the designated operational business partner to Legal and IP leadership, this role ensures alignment between functional strategies and enterprise-level processes, including those owned by Finance, HR, and Procurement. The role is critical to driving transparency, fiscal discipline, vendor management effectiveness, and business process optimization across the Legal and IP Divisions. It also plays a key role in promoting standardization, efficiency, cost control, and continuous improvement in how Legal and IP operate globally.

Additionally, the role oversees the use and performance of legal operations technologies, ensuring Legal and IP are supported by an effective, scalable, and cost-efficient technology toolset, including matter management and spend systems that support business needs.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Serve as the operational lead and execution partner to Legal and IP leadership, translating strategic priorities into coordinated business operations.
• Align Legal and IP operating plans with CoS Office goals supporting Legal, IP, Ethics & Compliance, and Quality Assurance.
• Drive process standardization, efficiency improvements, and enterprise-level operational consistency across legal support functions.
• Develop and monitor operational KPIs that support performance transparency and continuous improvement.

Outside Counsel & Vendor Program Management

• Lead global outside counsel and vendor operations, including firm onboarding/offboarding, scope and rate negotiation, and adherence to…